The energy storage industry has spent years separating SCADA, EMS, and power plant controller (PPC) functions into different vendor buckets. Developers end up with three contracts, three integrations, and three systems that need to talk to each other flawlessly at all times. WATTMORE's Intellect Operate eliminates that complexity. It is your SCADA. It is your EMS. It is your power plant controller. One platform, one vendor, one integration.
What Is a Power Plant Controller?
A power plant controller (PPC) is the system responsible for managing a generation or storage facility's interaction with the grid. The PPC receives setpoints and commands from the grid operator or utility; active power limits, reactive power requirements, ramp rate constraints, frequency response signals; and translates them into real time commands for inverters, batteries, and other controllable equipment.
For energy storage and solar facilities with interconnection agreements, a PPC is not optional. It is required. The facility must respond to grid operator commands within specified timeframes, maintain power factor within prescribed limits, and curtail output when instructed. Failure to comply results in penalties, curtailment, or disconnection.
Why Your EMS Should Be Your PPC
Traditionally, the PPC sits as a separate hardware and software layer between the grid operator and the site equipment. The EMS makes dispatch decisions based on economic optimization, passes those decisions to the PPC, and the PPC manages the grid interface. This architecture creates unnecessary complexity and latency.
When the EMS and PPC are integrated into a single platform, the optimization engine has direct visibility into grid constraints and can incorporate them into dispatch decisions in real time. There is no translation layer, no communication delay between systems, and no risk of the EMS and PPC issuing conflicting commands.
- Faster response times; Grid compliance signals are processed and executed in a single control loop instead of being relayed between systems
- Smarter curtailment; When the grid operator curtails the facility, the integrated EMS/PPC optimizes which resources to curtail and how to position the battery for maximum value once the curtailment lifts
- Unified commissioning; One system to commission, one set of protocols to test, one vendor responsible for grid compliance
- Reduced hardware; No separate PPC controller box, no additional communication infrastructure between EMS and PPC
Why Your EMS Should Be Your SCADA
The same logic applies to SCADA. A storage EMS that also serves as the SCADA system collects all operational data, provides operator dashboards and alarm management, and controls the battery; all from a single platform. There is no data reconciliation between monitoring and control systems. Every data point the SCADA displays is the same data point the EMS uses for dispatch decisions.
Operators see exactly what the control system sees. There is no lag between the monitoring view and the control reality. Alarms are generated from the same data stream that drives dispatch, so alarm context is always available for troubleshooting.
Intellect Operate: SCADA + EMS + PPC in One Platform
WATTMORE's Intellect Operate was designed from the ground up as a unified control platform. It handles grid compliance (PPC), operational monitoring (SCADA), and economic optimization (EMS) in a single integrated system. One deployment, one interface, one support team.
Intellect Operate supports all standard grid interface protocols including DNP3, Modbus, IEEE 2030.5, and SunSpec. It meets IEEE 1547, UL 1741, and utility specific interconnection requirements. It provides full SCADA grade data acquisition with 1 second resolution, tiered alarming, and historical data storage. And it optimizes dispatch across every available revenue stream simultaneously.
Stop paying for three systems when one does the job better. Contact WATTMORE to see how Intellect Operate unifies SCADA, EMS, and PPC for your project.